Iran Security Chief Rejects Allegations Of Corrupt Links With Builder

Speaking at a ceremony on Tuesday honoring the victims of the disaster, Ali Shamkhani tried to negate reports about his family’s connection with Hossein Abdolbaghi, the owner of the Metropol twin tower.

He said that while local and national authorities were doing their best to remove the physical debris and investigate the technical aspects of the incident, dissidents spread baseless rumors to mislead citizens.

So far, rescue workers have recovered 37 bodies, while reports say more than 30 people remain missing.

Iran International published two documents Friday that suggested a connection between Abdolbaghi and Mowud Shamkhani, Ali Shamkhani’s nephew, and other local officials who may have used their influence to help Abdolbaghi participate in large municipality-funded projects.

During the same ceremony, Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi Shahroudi, Khuzestan’s representative in the Assembly of Experts, expressed doubt about Abdolbaghi’s reported death, calling for an investigation. 

Authorities are accused by journalists and social media users of covering up his escape and claiming that he died in the incident.

Abdolbaghi, 40, was a well-known entrepreneur in Khuzestan with alleged strong connections with influential officials and centers of power.

The collapse of the building has led to ongoing protests in Abadan as well as in several other cities across the southwestern Khuzestan province who have been taking to the streets to demand accountability.

The move could be an attempt to divert attention from the sharp devaluation of the Iranian currency in the recent days, which has brought the rate of exchange for the US dollar to an all-time high of 318,000 rials. The devaluation heralds more inflation, already standing above 40 percent with food prices rising sharply in May. It could also be an attempt to show that the parliament or Majles is active as protests to government corruption and ineptitude continue.

However, it could be just as well a genuine attempt by Majles to make things right as the government seems to be incapable of mitigating the country's problems with its current makeup.

During the past months lawmakers trying to impeach several ministers including Labor Minister Hojjat Abdolmaleki and Industry Minister Reza Fatemi Amin, complained that there is more than enough support for the impeachment motion, but the Majles presidium opposes to move, apparently to give more time to Raisi and his ministers to catch up with worsening crises in the country.

This time it is different as according to ILNA website in Tehran, a member of the Majles presidium, Ahmad Amirabadi told the state TV on Monday, "We are waiting for the President to reshuffle his cabinet,” urging parliament members to wait.

Speaking on national television, Amirabadi said at least three or four ministers, one vice president and several provincial governors need to be replaced, without mentioning any names.

Amirabadi accused some of Raisi's ministers of thinking only about the interests of their hometowns, as if they are a member of parliament. He added: "It is good that current [hardliner] lawmakers helped a revolutionary government to take over the affairs of the state, but this should not lead to undermining of the parliament's supervisory role."

Meanwhile, in a May 31 report, moderate news website Rouydad24 said that parliament may not be willing to extend the time it gave Raisi to reshuffle his ministers, and lawmakers have already started to warn Raisi and even threaten him over the imminent impeachment of his ministers.

The website quoted several lawmakers as having said that "The Majles should quickly table impeachment motions if Raisi refuses to make changes in his cabinet." The lawmakers have also said: "Majles is considering to impeach five to six cabinet ministers, but the cases of the labor and industry ministers are being discussed more seriously."

Lawmaker Lotfollah Siahkali told Rouydad24 that "some of these ministers will certainly lose their post if they are ever summoned to the Majles." Apart from the two ministers, according to Amirabadi, there is also strong support for the impeachment of Communication Minister Isa Zarepour.

The move to impeach ministers seems more serious than ever as Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who a few months ago suggested to delay radical moves, last week changed his tune: "If the government's missions are not accomplished, the Majles might use its supervisory authority including impeachment and legal action."

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof said on Tuesday that the signatories of the statement – headlined ‘Lay Down Your Arms’ -- have been threatened and intimidated by the Islamic Republic authorities to rescind their signatures.

"They think cinema is their barracks where they can use militarism to silence the artists' protest against violence,” he said.

In their open letter published on Sunday, a large group of film makers and actors called on security forces responsible for suppressing protests to lay down their weapons. Citizens have been demonstrating since last week against the rulers of the clerical regime.

Without directly mentioning the statement, the Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance warned Monday night, “We will punish those who seek to stand in the way of IRGC and guardians of Iran’s security by releasing worthless statements and delusional remarks.”

In reaction to the letter, Cinema Press website, with links to the security apparatus, quoted an “informed source” as saying that anyone who incites armed forces to rebel, flee, or surrender will face from six months to 10 years of prison.

The ongoing protests began when a 10-story building collapsed in Abadan, in the oil-rich Khuzestan province May 23, leaving 36 people dead while dozens are still missing.

Reformist activist Davoud Soleimani wrote in a commentary in Etemad newspaper that "the collapse of the Metropol Tower is a miniature symbol of the dynamics prevailing in Iran's government." This is an utterly polite way of saying that the way local and national governments as well as security forces are handling the people's reactions following the catastrophe is shambolic.

Soleimani warned the government that "some of the country's problems cannot be solved simply through the use of force."

He attributed some of the shortcomings in Abadan, where the incident happened, to the government's faulty structures, which in turn gave way to the corruption that led to sloppy construction methods, ultimately killing more than 30 people.

However, Soleimani pointed out that Iran has fairly good laws about regulating construction work and safety, but influential individuals at the municipality and elsewhere in the country's management can always circumvent the laws.

He added that the government should remember the lessons learned from the incident and prevent disregard of safety regulations by influential individuals. Soleimani further pointed out that it is bad when a reporter who had warned about the possibility of a collapse was threatened and silenced by the authorities.

Meanwhile, former lawmaker Davoud Yousefian Molla told Etemad Online in Tehran about the ambiguities surrounding the event. "It is still not known why the search and rescue mission is taking so long. Also, we still do not know who is responsible for compensating the losses sustained," he said, adding that because of widespread distrust, many still do not believe the owner of the building was killed under the debris as the government says.

"The government is working hard to secure the people's trust, but the situation is not good, and the chaotic performance of the authorities leave little room for trust," said Yousefian.He added: "The Interior Minister, the Red Crescent Society and the local governor are at the site of the collapse, but their presence makes no difference as there is no proper search, rescue and relief plan in place."

Yousefian further said, "The fact that we still do not know the identity of those buried under the debris and do not know who is responsible for what happened and who is in charge of search and rescue operations adds to the sense of distrust among the people." He added that this distrust has accumulated over time and is not solely related to this particular event."

Yousefian charged that Iranian officials have been lying to the people since former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. "People used to call former President Hassan Rouhani a liar even before he began to speak. The reason for this is the lack of trust among the people," he said.

In another article in the reformist Shargh newspaper, Iranian commentator Amir Nazemi wrote that "protesters in Abadan know that the dead cannot be brought back to life. What they protest against are corruption, lawbreaking and ignoring the value of life." He added that no concession can calm down the protests but what can relieve the situation is creating an atmosphere for reviewing and correcting the process of decision-making in Iran."

Nazemi called for the government's confrontation with corruption, empowering supervisory bodies and facilitating "e-petitions" and whistleblowing and making sure that those who sign petitions and blow whistles live without fear of judiciary’s reprisal.

In an interview with Ensaf News on Monday, Mohsen Hashemi Rafsanjani said that the list had been available since at least 2020 but security authorities pushed to bury the list of high-risk buildings in Tehran. Ensaf News last week published the list, citing the fire department.

Ghodratollah Mohammadi, the new head of Tehran Fire Department, who said on Sunday that "we will definitely publish the list of 129 high-risk buildings in Tehran with the coordination of the prosecutor's office," rejected the validity of the list on Monday. "It is invalid and has nothing to do with the Tehran fire department," he said.

He had said on Sunday that there are more than three thousand cases of such buildings in the capital.

The issue of unsafe buildings has become hot as protests began last Monday, when a 10-story building collapsed in Abadan, leaving 34 people dead and an equal number missing. It quickly became apparent that the owner was a powerful and well-connected businessman who had disregarded regulations and building codes, being backed by officials, who might have had their own financial interests.

Anti-government protests continue in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province as large number of security forces have been mobilized to crack down.